


Where The Forest Grows

by fmobbu, Suzariah



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Case Fic, Drama, Future Fic, Gen, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Tree youkai, Youkai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 06:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20304694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fmobbu/pseuds/fmobbu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzariah/pseuds/Suzariah
Summary: Years after high school, Natsume and Tanuma settle into their lives as a small part of the exorcist community. They serve as "Spiritual help" to those in need, they are known for solving issues related to youkai in an unconventional, peaceful manner. With the book of friends low on pages, Natsume is still searching for his grandmother's past, helping humans and youkai alike along the way. When a woman falls asleep in her house and has no signs of waking for the foreseeable future, Natsume and Tanuma are called in to deal with the youkai at fault.





	Where The Forest Grows

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to fmobbu for doing the art for this!  
Also thanks to the mods of the Natsuyuu Summer Big Bang for organizing this!

It starts with a phone call, ever since he moved bad news is always delivered the same. 

His sister is in the hospital, no one knows what’s wrong. She’s always been healthy, last time he saw her she had been glowing, the happiness and excitement of living in a new place radiated from her. He asked her then, just to be sure, if she was really okay living alone so far away from their parents. 

“Of course! It’s an adventure all for myself, I’m so excited,” She had said, he thought it was strange. That much excitement over such a stressful thing. But his sister has always been like that, running off on her own and returning with the biggest smile and a tale of an adventure only she experienced. Why should it be different now that she’s in her 20s? The journey instead is a few train rides, a new job, and a new home rather than a walk down to the river where the only threat was tripping into the creek. 

He’s closest, so he’s the one to arrive first. Their parents call him, panicked. He tries to breathe easy, tell them it’s going to be okay, even though he has no idea. 

She looks fine, lying in her hospital bed. Just looks asleep, no worse for wear. Apparently, she’s been like this for days now. Her friends had been watching over her, saying she felt off these past few weeks. Seems like things started since she moved into the new house.

He tucks the blankets up around her shoulders, in case she’s cold. Who knows what’s going on in her head while he waits for her to wake. 

It’s quiet for awhile, long enough that his mind has wandered through a thousand possible routes as to what happened. That is, until a woman approaches, she doesn’t look like she works with the hospital. “Ah...and are you her...” 

“Brother. Mom and Dad should be arriving soon…” He says, trying to indicate he’s not the only one. He’s nervous, he’s not the type to engage with strangers. He’s hoping his parents will arrive soon and alleviate the social stress of navigating this situation. 

“Ah um...I’m Kai’s friend...I brought her in, I wasn’t sure what to do.” The woman explains. She seems just as awkward, but he’s grateful she approached. Maybe he can get some more information, the doctor’s haven’t been helpful.

He glances to his sister, still sleeping soundly. Just as she has been for nearly four days...supposedly, “Do you know what happened? Was there anything going on before this?” 

“Like what?” 

“Anything...She’s always getting into something it seems.”

The woman looks pained, “There was ...something.” 

His eyebrows raise, “Something?” 

“In her house...she was saying there was something in her house.” The woman is nervous, fidgeting. Something in her house? He’s not sure what to make of the ominous statement, it sounds like she’s talking about a haunting or something of the like rather than a break in. 

Either way, he needs more information. “Like what? What kind of something?“

The woman shakes her head. “She talked about it, sometimes. Something she couldn’t see, but she seemed more tired every day.” She sighs, looking apologetic as she takes a seat on the other side of the bed, Kai between them. “We weren’t that close, had drinks after work sometimes. But I could see how drained she was, even more last week. When she didn’t come into work for the second day I thought maybe it was time I paid a visit.”

“And then?” 

“I found her sleeping at her kitchen table. As if she fell asleep in the middle of getting ready for the day.” 

Odd, his sister has never had narcoleptic tendencies. If anything its always been the opposite, always has a ridiculous amount of energy. 

“I felt it, inside the house. I still feel it ...there was something there, draining her energy. I didn’t think anything of it until I brought her here. I went back and the second I walked in I felt...tired, but like something had physically snatched away my energy. I’m surprised she could stand it so long, a few hours was more than enough for me to feel it….” She pauses, and looks directly at him in a nervous manner. “I’m not sure if its something chemical in the air or how the house was built or something else, but no one has found anything logical yet to explain it.” 

“You know how this sounds right?” He knows what she’s implying, it's clear where her suspicions are of the cause. The something is clear, this woman thinks there’s some sort of ghost in her sister’s house. 

“I...didn’t mean it to sound like that. But it's like nothing I’ve ever felt, it's like the sensation has an emotion behind it.”

“What’s the emotion?” He asks, at this the woman tenses up and for the first time, truly looks fearful of what she’s saying.

“Anger.” 

…

He takes a long pull from his cigarette, Natori’s been trying to quit, but they always cast him in roles like this and it starts the habit back up again. Bad boy, love interests, either way he ends up smoking again. 

His phone rings today, the one for his other job and it's the first time in a while. He’s hesitant to answer, feeling torn about how he handles his work these days. Natsume’s temperament has grown on him. 

“Hello?” 

“Um yes, I need help from a specialist in um…” 

“Exorcisms, if you have this number then that’s what you’re calling for.” 

“Right. Yes. It’s my sister...something’s wrong, either in her or in her house, she won’t wake up.” 

Natori’s eyes widen. “She’s been hurt?” 

“Ah, no. She’s just been asleep for nearly a week now. It’s nothing medical, but a friend of hers is convinced its something supernatural and I...I have to agree with her.” 

Natori sighs, “What’s your name kid?” 

“Uh, Kida. My sister’s Kai.” 

“Where are you at?” 

….

Kida feels reassured somehow that this Exorcist lives on shrine grounds. Finding Natori Shuuichi at the other end of the phone felt like he ran into some enormous prank, but this feels something closer to what he wants. Spiritual help. 

Shortly after his phone call with Natori he ended up in the shrine of a small rural town where apparently a “master of the youkai world” will see him. It all sounds ridiculous at this point, but he’s willing to do anything. It’s been two weeks and his sister still hasn’t awoken. 

A man with dark hair comes to greet him. His voice is warm when he says, “He’s waiting for you, please come with me.” 

It all feels like some ride he’s on with paid performances. But he follows the man with the warm smile down the shrine halls. The image is perfect. Everything looks perfectly placed, each blade of grass, each door. The inner garden looks like something out of a movie, a soft patch of flowers beside a clear pond. If he looked in he thinks he’d see koi fish. 

The man leads him down another hall, and the first thing that looks off comes into view. An immensely overweight cat sits aside the door, its expression reminiscent of a human grin.

“I’m Tanuma, let me know if I can get you anything, he’s waiting inside whenever you are ready.” 

He swears the cat raises an eyebrow. It looks like it’s listening.

He takes a deep breath and slides the door open, ignoring the cat. 

It’s theatrically dark inside, looking like it’s trying to market something supernatural while simultaneously suggesting comfort. Soft blankets and pillows line the sides of the room, while the center is dominated by a low table with cards and masks scattered about on its surface. 

“This looks ...a little ridiculous.” A soft voice says behind the next door. He agrees, though wonders if they know he can hear. 

“It’s rude to not meet expectations.” Another voice responds, he suspects it’s Tanuma’s. 

“Who said that?” A soft voice replies.

“I don’t know, but he can probably hear you, get in there.” 

There’s a huff of amusement before the door opens. The man isn’t as tall as he was expecting. He’s wearing a long dark purple kimono and an intricate mask, a pale white disk with horns that remind him of bulls that is framed by blonde hair that’s nearly touching his shoulders.

“Are you?” 

He’s met with an awkward nod, and a gesture for him to sit at the table. 

“I’m uh… The Purifier.” There’s a sound behind the door that sounds suspiciously like a laugh. “Ah, tell me what’s been going on.” The man with the mask says, his voice sounds so young and uncertain. 

His doubts flare, this all seems ridiculous. First he encounters an organization that commits to exorcisms and his first phone call leads him to world famous actor Natori Shuuichi, now some poor kid Natori probably paid off is pretending he’s going to help him. He’s about at his limit for the strange and absurd. 

“You are the master of youkai? Is this some prank because I don’t have time for-” 

“It's not! I...yeah I am an expert. Please...tell me what’s been going on.” He says. His voice is flustered, though he seems far more human than any guy in his ensemble should be.

Kida huffs, irate. He has nothing to lose really, “Well, it’s my sister. She’s in the hospital and been asleep for over two weeks now. I think somethings in her house, but it could be attached to her...I’m not really sure. If this is some elaborate prank you better tell me now.” 

The man nods slowly, “How sure are you that it's a youkai?” 

“There’s an...uneasy feeling. In the house, I mean. Around her a little too, but she’s also been comatose for awhile now.” 

“Comatose, and nothings showing up medically? Does she have a history of this kind of thing?” 

His sister has always had crazy antics, but nothing like this. “No.” 

The man nods, “Alright, we will go have a look.”

Kida ruffles, “Do you perform some ritual or?” 

There’s a small noise of discontent, then the man removes his mask. He’s young, in his twenties maybe. Far younger than he expected any supernatural expert to be, he expected some crazy older man, but his expectations have yet to be met thus far.

“We’ll go visit your sister and contact you if we find anything, can I have her address?”

...

When Kida leaves, Natsume can feel the amusement practically seeping from the walls.

“The Purifier,” Nyanko says, laughing openly. 

“Shut up. You said to make up a name for this... thing.” Natsume gestures to the entire room.

So far, their attempt at making a business out of helping both people and youkai hasn’t produced much fruit. Taki suggested maybe it was time they started branding, making a name for themselves. 

He had no idea it entailed acting like a complete idiot. It was one thing to wear a mask and dress around youkai or Natori, it felt so much different greeting “Clients” in such a getup.

“I think it went well.” Tanuma says, entering the room with an equally amused grin.

“I don’t think you do.” 

Tanuma paces over and sits across from Natsume at the table, fiddling with the various decor as he does. “Well, I think we now know the whole performance aspect might be something we don’t want.” 

He agrees, “We definitely want to skip that.” 

“I thought it was pretty good.”

“The Purifier.” Nyanko says again, falling back into hysterics.

“What made you choose that name anyway?” 

In all honesty he came up with it on the fly, Nyanko said introduce himself with a code name but he had hoped it would come to him in the moment. 

“We... well... this is a shrine.”

Tanuma smiles widely. “Yes.”

“You know, purifying the land and-“ 

“Natsume I don’t think I, I don’t think we have ever purified the land of youkai. My dad did sure, but...” 

Natsume shrugs, “Sounded fitting at the time.” 

Tanuma stands, and offers a hand. “We should check on that girl.”

“Yeah. I’ll change and we can go. ” Changing into normal clothes sounds like a blessing.

Tanuma stares critically, “I guess hiding your identity is something you no longer want to do?” 

Natsume stares at the mask, somehow others knowing of his abilities doesn’t bother him like it once did, “I guess not.”

...

They head to the hospital first, He pretends the cat held in his arms is a stuffed plushie and, as usual, somehow gets away with it. 

They find Kida there at his sister’s side when they arrive. They share an awkward look, Kida’s eyes rake over Natsume in normal clothes. 

“The outfit not necessary?” 

Natsume shakes his head and turns his attention to the girl. 

Something seems off, that much is for sure. Her sleep is far from a natural one. His suspicious are even more solidified by the gentle touch from Tanuma, followed by his immediate departure. If Tanuma got a strong enough headache to leave so soon, things aren’t looking great for their case with this youkai. 

“Her sleep... it’s definitely not medical.”

“What’s wrong?” Kida asks, voice distressed.

“It’s like...something’s holding her down.” 

He thinks he can see it, he’s sure he’ll dream about it later. How he is not seeing a physical manifestation at this point is beyond him. 

He gets out his phone and texts Taki, he needs an anti possession charm. If he can’t see it then maybe it’s inside.

“Can you see it?” 

“No, but both Tanuma and I can feel it.” 

It’s not a good feeling, it’s vindictive, but maybe not all together malevolent. Did the girl do something to anger the youkai?

“You said the house may have something to do with this?” 

Kida nods urgently. “It’s not to far away, we could go there now?” 

Natsume agrees, Nyanko looks strangely serious where he’s perched. 

“They’re not as powerful as me, maybe you’ll be removing another name from the book of friends.” 

Natsume glances at him then at the book. The names have been reduced to less than ten. They’ve given up the pretense that Nyanko is only in this for the book, they’re partners.

“Maybe this is a little far out for Reiko,” Natsume replies. 

“Maybe the youkai is the one who did the traveling.” 

“Or maybe this youkai doesn’t have a name in the book of friends,” Natsume tells him. It’s been awhile since a youkai has had any familiarity with his grandmother. Still, Nyanko and Natsume wait for those youkai with bated breath every time.

“Hmph, we’ll see.” 

...

Kai’s house is farther back in the woods than he was expecting. He finds himself uneasy as he approaches its front steps, he knows he’s going to find something inside that he would rather not interact with. 

Tanuma flanks him and gives him a small encouraging smile. This is their job these days, they’ve made a very small name for themselves in the exorcist community, specifically Natori sending them clients. Having Tanuma here with him has made it better, made it feel more normal.

He’s still surprised some days, that Tanuma willingly jumped into all the crazy with him. It’s an open secret now that they run a “spiritual help” shrine, it’s atypical, but it hasn’t deterred anyone who he cares for. After Kitamoto and Nishimura found out and didn’t go running for the hills, he felt like there was no real need to hide anymore. It was easier after that, to pursue what he was good at, mediating youkai and humans. 

Even the Fujiwaras knew, when he finally couldn’t hide it anymore and he confronted them it was like they had known all along.

“You ready?” Tanuma asks, not impatiently, but with the kind encouragement that makes this worth it.

“Yes.” 

Natsume opens the door.

The energy of the place is off, as is obvious by Tanumas reaction. A headache clearly building. He doesn’t see much though, the entranceway leads into a small kitchen. It’s simple, brown and beige tones cover the walls.There’s a smell that he suspects is food expiring in the cabinets.

He opens the next door, a hallway leading to a desk for the backyard. There something catches his eye, a gust of wind, a wide yard surrounded by a forest of trees.

He moves outside slowly, stepping from the deck to the grass. He feels the youkai before he sees it. 

“Another human wishes to reside in this place? Have we not drained them out by now?” A voice rumbles, deep and threatening. Its loud, as if it echoes within the entire house.

Tanuma winces in pain in the same moment Natsume feels a wave of malicious intent come over him. He can’t see the youkai, not yet, but it’s attacking him. It feels like his energy is being drained from every muscle in his body, he clenches his fist to find his grip strength nearly absent. 

“Takashi, on your back. I think... I think there’s something.” 

Natsume spins around, head craning to see behind him. He sees something, small youkai out of the corner of his eye, but he can’t see it in its entirety. 

He remembers seeing a mirror in the kitchen and runs back inside, facing his back to the reflection. 

Nearly twenty youkai or more dot his back, clinging to his shirt and his skin. Their eyes and mouths empty, lifting as if screaming. 

He nearly shrieks in fear and surprise, but he takes a deep calming breath. 

He looks closely, they’re small and not too intimidating. He’s seen many forest youkai, and these ones are no different. These ones are small and green, their eyes and mouths empty covered with a wooden and stiff face, as if they are made from a tree themselves. 

“What are you doing?” He asks, softly. 

“This one can see us.” One of them announces.

The deeper voice rumbles, “How can he see? They have never seen before.”

This leaves Natsume questioning, are these young youkai? Most youkai he comes into contact with are familiar with the world of humans who can see them, the exorcists and random passerby alike.

“Why are you attacking me,” he asks instead, feeling too exhausted for any more patience. 

Pain strikes through his back and he crumples to the ground.

“Natsume!” 

Tanuma is at his side in a second. Nyanko stands by, observing. He can feel the fight emanating from him though, soon Madara’s power will be unleashed on these youkai.

“The humans, they care not where they live even though we lived here first!”

The source of the voice is made clearer, an abnormally large tree in the small yard is moving in a way that is telling. 

He stands up, with some difficulty. Tanuma offers support at his side as he approaches the large tree. 

“Is this your home? Was it taken from you?” 

A tall wooden figure emerges from seemingly within the tree. “It is not my home but my body and children who die at the hands of humans! You are not welcome!” 

It’s features are now more recognizable, a face, a mouth, concealed in an array of tree like features. Branches reach out from its sides, hair and fur covering stiff arms. It moves slowly, its form attached to its home. It’s unusual for most tree youkai Natsume’s encountered before, this one seems to be the tree itself rather than a youkai living within it.

The figures rushes at him and Natsume stumbles back, taking Tanuma with him as he falls.

Nyanko changes form in an eruption of power, intercepting the youkai, blocking his advance.

“Calm down sprout, the humans have no idea you even exist. Why’d you place them here anyway? You should know better.” Nyanko says with his usual air of arrogant power.

Natsume looks on, confused at the exchange. Place them?

He looks to the small beings clinging to his back, draining him. He wonders how Kai lasted days, weeks even.

“The child is strong.” The tree says. “He will provide the nourishment for my children as the girl has. It’s the least the humans owe me. It is their fault that my children cannot bask in the sun.” 

Why wouldn’t they be able to bask in the sun? 

He looks around, trying to find the connection. The youkai is suffering, as most are who attacks humans, he finds. There’s almost always a reason. When there isn’t one, that’s usually when he has to call Natori for backup. Not only that, he’s encountered many youkai of nature who’ve been pushed to their limits from people going about their daily lives. This case is familiar and a feeling like confidence comes to him, they will be able to save Kai and help this youkai. 

So where is the issue? The youkai’s tree isn’t damaged, the tall tree stands without any indication of damage, its pale trunk untouched by Kai’s home a few steps away. 

The sprouts, they said. The tree has produced seeds? 

The picture is clear now. He sits up, moving to the deck of the house. He looks underneath the deck, knowing what he will find. 

He thinks she sees small sprouts stick up out of the ground, the small seedlings clinging to his back become riled and a pained noise is choked out of him as his vision grows blurry. 

“Natsume!” 

“The sprouts...can’t get any sunlight. They’re stuck under the house,” He tells them. “We need to…” 

His vision fades as the seedlings grow more agitated. He can still feel the grass beneath his hands and its soon replaced with the feel of Nyanko carrying him with Tanuma supporting him at his back. 

The feeling of being drained ceases and he breathes deeply, but he can’t fight the wave of sleepiness that overcomes him. 

…

A girl he recognizes sits at the entrance to a house. Wood outlines the exterior, additions to the house are being made. 

“Why am I so tired?” she says to no one. There is someone listening. Beneath her feet. 

He feels the pressure of someone standing over him, blocking out the light, and a tired feeling overcomes him as someone eclipses the light above him. 

“How will we survive?” They ask, in unison. It’s a chorus that holds a mantra throughout the days. 

“How will we survive?” 

It is asked, once again, this time it is asked of the tree they fell from. Of the being they one day wish to grow to. 

“I don’t know. I will find a way.” The tree replies, growing strength with their prayers, their wish to survive. 

“We will find a way to survive.” They say, in unison. 

Time passes, a human frequents the shade which they reside on.

“Can we take from her?” 

This too, becomes a prayer. 

Soon enough, they find a way. Their physical forms are just the means of their existence, but it does not tie them down as it does most. They can feel the life from the girl who walks on their land, as her feet immerse themselves into the dirt and land that no longer sustains them.

The land that can’t provide without the light. Their roots simply can’t reach that far. 

Their mother tree stretches its roots out and soon enough, they are attaching themselves to the human girl, taking the life force of her to sustain their own. 

“We will live!” 

They chant the chorus, thanking the mother tree, condemning the shadow above them. The humans footsteps echo above them until they start to slow, and they know their temporary food source is limited. 

Soon, she is farther away and they are parched. Some cling to her from the great distance of their physical forms, slowlying taking energy rather than draining it in great amounts. 

They’ll run out soon, what will they do then? 

“What will we do?” They ask the mother tree, their voices echo in unison. 

Their mother does not respond. 

...

  
  


The next time he opens his eyes they’re sitting outside the hospital where Kai is being kept. 

“Natsume?” 

Tanuma’s concerned voice slowly makes its way into his awareness. 

“I’m awake.” He says, though he isn't. Not entirely. Voices echo in his head, a hivemind of desperation to survive still ringing in his ears.

“I think those things are still on your back, I was worried you wouldn’t wake up.” Tanuma voice quivers slightly, his fear apparent. 

Natsume attempts to smile, though he still feels like he needs to sleep for a few days. “I’m okay, how long was I out?” 

“Only for the rest of the evening. We were on our way here to admit you but you started to stir. We were going to take you inside if you slept any longer. Kida came by too, he’s back in with his sister.” Tanuma says as he helps Natsume stand on shaky legs. 

“I think we need to turn her over and talk to the youkai on her back, I think we can wake her now even. We just need to talk to them.” 

The ones on his back, if he tells them he can remove them from under the house and into the sunlight they should grow healthy and have the energy they need. The angrier youkai should be appeased then if its children are flourishing. 

He’s still hazy on how exactly the youkai ended up planted under the house, the house isn’t exactly new. Was the deck added later? The images in his head are all darkness, the voices and the feeling of finding sustenance after a long hunger are his primary sensations.

“But Natsume...the ones still on you...if you pass out on us only Ponta will be able to talk to them, and we both know he won’t do that much talking before it ends badly. That might not even fix it either.” 

“Where is he right now?” 

“Not sure, he seemed very worried in his kind of way, he might’ve gone off drinking when you started showing signs of improvement. He couldn’t get the youkai off your back, but he did manage to make them stop feeding off you for a few hours I think.” 

Natsume nods in assent. It might be better Nyanko isn’t here right now, he has no intention of fighting these youkai. 

He looks around, there’s people milling about, but he doesn’t care as much as he used to if he looks crazy. 

“The sprouts on my back can hear us, Tanuma. Let’s see what they have to say.” 

He listens and feels the faint shadow of a touch shifting along his back. He wonders if Kai could feel this, or if its his sensitivity to youkai that allows for the feeling. He wouldn’t notice its faint touch if he was anyone else, maybe write it off as a passing breeze. 

“The human wants us to stop.” One says, voice small. 

“We will die if we stop, there is not enough nutrients.” 

“What if I could get you guys some sunlight? A more natural way for you to receive energy is preferable than to eating off me right?” 

“Sunlight?” There’s more shifting of feeling on his back, as if he’s riled the sprouts. 

“We have not had sunlight since we were seedlings. How would we have such a thing, unless the house was destroyed.” 

“Will you destroy the house human? Please help us destroy the house!” 

He pauses, that wasn’t his plan and he doesn’t want to encourage that. But he needs his energy to do what he plans. 

“I will make sure you will be in the sun by the end of the day, but I need you to stop draining me and any other humans you are feeding off of.” 

More shuffling, deliberating. The feeling almost tickles and he finds himself fidgeting. Tanuma looks on with his signature look of worry. Natsume tries to ease him with his eyes. 

“It’s okay.” 

“Will they stop?” Tanuma asks, hovering over him. 

Natsume pauses, waiting for their response. 

Another light feeling brushing across his back, its gentler, the youkai have come to a decision. 

“We will only take what we need to survive. Please help us human.” One calmly states. 

“Tear down the house human!” Another one shouts in excitement. 

A chorus of babble erupts, he wonders exactly how many are on him right now, clearly more than he thought. They are not as synced as they were in his dreams.

“They are only going to take what they need until we fix the issue.” 

Tanuma doesn’t seem to take much comfort from this, but he nods. “What about Kai?” 

“I guess we go see if the youkai on her will make the same deal.” 

“Oh, Taki came by with this.” Tanuma lifts a small charm, a leaf surrounded by a circle in an artistic weave of thread and wood.

“We’ll give it to Kai.” 

Tanuma looks disturbed, “We’ll hold onto it for you, if you pass out we have no other plan of attack.” 

Natsume makes a noise of displeasure, “Do we have more than one?” 

“Taki says she’ll have another one made later today.” 

“Then Kai gets it, I’ll be okay. We need to wake her up as soon as possible. If they keep draining her she may not ever wake up. They’ve taken a lot from her already, but if we get it in time she can restore what she’s lost,” he says with urgency. 

Tanuma pales at this and begrudgingly nods. He’s right that the only plan of attack they have is for him to talk to the youkai and come to a solution, the alternative is Nyanko or Natori taking them out. Which would be likely, if Natsume passes out again. 

They head to Kai’s hospital room finding her just the same as the days before. Kida is there at her bedside.

“Have you guys?” 

“We’re here to detach the youkai from her, or at least make them stop draining her.” 

Kida looks simultaneously relieved and skeptical. He looks at Natsume with hesitance, “I saw you passed out.” 

“I did, the youkai were doing the same thing they did to your sister. They have stopped draining me for now.”

Kida nods, “How’re you going to wake her up?” 

Natsume hesitates. He likely won’t like their answer. “We are going to talk to them.” 

Instead of waiting for a reply, Natsume wastes no time and approaches the hospital bed. “Do you hear? We are asking you to stop draining the energy out of this woman.” 

There’s a small, very quiet noise in reply. He can barely make it out. 

“These sprouts may be running low on energy they can get from this human.” A sprout from his back says.

Fear sweeps through him, the sprout youkai need removed, fast. 

“Turn her over.” Natsume demands quietly. He’s aware of the eyes on them. They are strange visitors, asking a rather violating request. 

“What?” 

“Turn her over, they are on her back.” 

Kida looks disturbed, but slowly moves to comply at the urgency in Natsume’s voice. 

The brother turns her over carefully, being aware to keep the majority of her concealed. Natsume cannot see her skin anyway though, as the second she is lifted he can see the mound of youkai attached to this girls back. They look deranged with hunger. They are clearly not getting much more from her. 

“Youkai, you may attach yourselves to me, if that would satisfy your hunger.” 

That perks some interest. 

“Natsume what are you doing, we have the charm-” 

“They might die if they don’t eat,” Natsume replies with sadness. 

Tanuma’s stance turns irate and stubborn. “And you may die if you’re not careful. They are sucking the energy out of you.” 

“Only to survive...Sprouts, can you control their intake if they decide to take from me.” 

There’s a shuffling again, the distinct sound Natsume recognizes as a decision being made by the collective of youkai attached to him. 

“We...will try for you human. We have been hungry before, we will control them.” A voice says, Natsume recognizes it as the calm one from earlier. 

“Alright.” 

Slowly, Natsume reaches out and gently touches the girls back, an offering from the youkai to jump to him. There’s a slight stir, but the youkai seem to cling to the girl harder, too attached to the host that's sustained them for so long. 

“Kaname, we need the charm. Place it on her.” 

Tanuma looks like he’s about to start shaking from nerves, but he does as Natsume says and places the charm on Kai. 

The youkai shriek at the touch of it and flea to Natsume in an instant, attaching themselves to the new host. 

Natsume stumbles, his legs giving out at the weight of them. These youkai are so  _ hungry _ . He can feel it, its like in his dream. 

Tanuma catches him from falling all the way to the floor, his legs barely able to hold him upright. 

Their hunger sings in his veins, its dizzying. He feels like his skin is sinking in, his stomach been emptied instantly. 

“Hold on human, we will temper them.” 

“Takashi, can I help somehow? I can host some of them.” 

Natsume stares at him fiercely in a silent  _ no. _ “They are ...getting the hungrier ones under control.”

“The hungrier? Let me take one or two at least Natsume. I don’t even know how many you are carrying.” 

Natsume didn’t either until a second ago, now with the singing in his veins he knows exactly how many he’s carrying. At least ten hungry ones from Kai, the rest are sated off their meal of him from earlier. 

He pauses, trying to get his legs under him to carry him. 

“Natsume...you can’t even stand...please.” 

Tanuma is right, he can’t stand. They won’t be able to stop this if they can’t get back to the house. 

“Okay, okay...you can take one.” Natsume agrees. One won’t do much damage.

“One? How many do you have on you? It sounds like it’s much more than that. I can almost see a shadow on your back now, Natsume.” 

One of the youkai on his back speaks up. “He’ll take three of us. We will make one of the hungrier ones go over to your friend.” 

There’s the distinct shifting again, a lightening of a burden. Natsume manages to grit his teeth and speak. “No, only one.” 

Still, he feels distinctly more than one leave him and then Tanuma grunts softly and cringes, his hands leaving Natsume to hold himself upright. Natsume nearly tumbles his way to the ground, but the relief of those few youkai leaving him lets him carry his weight. 

“I said only one!” Natsume grits out. 

“You needed at least three to leave human, the human held a great many of us upon her life force.” 

Natsume’s teeth clench in anger, but he watches as Tanuma stands upright, not with the ease he’d prefer to see, but with a strength that is clearly greater than Natsume’s. He’ll be alright. 

“I’m okay, Natsume. You don’t need to worry so much, I can help. You should know this by now. We’re a team right?” Tanuma says with a smile, his hand reaching out in support. 

Natsume sighs deeply, but his lips are upturned into a smile against his will. “Right, we’re a team.” 

“Now, what next?” Tanuma asks with clearly faked energy. He still cannot help but worry, even if Tanuma is in a far better state than him.

Kida hovers closely. “Are you guys okay?” 

“Yeah...Kida, does your sister have any gardening tools at your house?” 

...

Kida comes with them to Kai’s house. Nyanko will meet them there shortly according to some messenger youkai who dropped by as he was leaving the hospital. 

Natsume’s plan is simple, they are going to move whatever sprouts reside under the house into more fertile land in the sun and open air of the backyard. 

A little gardening, how hard could it be? The hardest part will be finding where they are under the house. 

Natsume has an idea though, his visions in his head seem clearer and clearer with the additional youkai attached to his back. 

They are noisier than they were earlier, he can hear them still trying to restrain the hungrier youkai from draining him to the point of exhaustion. He feels a little stronger since leaving the hospital, he hopes he’ll hold out for this act of physical labor. 

When they arrive at the house Kida shows them to the tool shed where they grab some spades and some fertilizer. He hopes this will do, he’s not entirely sure how to unroot a small sprout of a tree, but he’s watched Touka garden for many years, he’s sure he’s learned something by now.

Nyanko’s assistance is needed fairly quickly. The mother tree protests angrily as Natsume searches around the house for its children. 

“How dare you return! My children will consume your life force until you run dry!” 

The youkai rages, the tree shaking in its fury. 

Natsume searches quickly armed with a flashlight as Tanuma and Kida prepare the area where they plan to put down the sprouts he uproots. He can’t find an opening to underneath the house, the only area to really check are the walkways and the deck that surrounds the house. 

He flashes a light down beneath the deck, the wooden beams blocking a lot of his vision. 

“Do you guys know where you are down here? I need to move you to a spot with more sun?” 

“Move us? Just destroy the house human.” 

“Yes, just destroy the house.” 

“Destroy it!” 

They all chorus in a similar fashion, their hive mind returned. 

They are of no help for now, so Natsume continues his search. He’s not sure what he’s looking for, until he comes across a little sprout after fully crawling underneath the deck of the home. 

“Is this one of you? Trust me, you’ll be safer if I do this.” 

There’s no reply other than a frantic shifting against his back. 

They are afraid. Natsume senses he will have to be fast on this one. 

Slowly, with great care, he digs out the first sprout. He makes sure to care for the roots to ensure they are not damaged and that the soil he sculpts around still holds the entire plant. 

The second he lifts the sprout from the ground, he feels a wild jerk against his back, like a youkai has renewed its latch on his life force. 

His breathing stops and he moves with a frantic mania he can barely keep his careful hold on the sprout. He makes it from out beneath the deck, Kida and Tanuma looking at him with alarm as he makes his way towards them. 

The mother youkai starts shouting at him, he can feel the aggression from across the yard. He senses Nyanko-sensei poofs into his true form, the mother clearly on the attack as it watches one of its children being moved.

Natsume barely manages to replant the sprout, his breath coming in short desperate bursts, he still feels like he can’t get any air. 

Once replanted there are a few moments where Natsume tries to regain his breath. He feels his vision start to fade until Tanuma slaps a hand on him and instantly, he feels all the youkai flee from him. 

He inhales deep lungfuls of air as the youkai leave him. “What...happened?” He exhales in between jagged breaths. 

Tanuma looks exhausted next to him, he slowly lifts his hand, looking sheepish as he shows him the charm they placed on Kai earlier. “Like I said, you needed it more.” 

“But she could be-” 

“All the youkai went from her to you, Natsume, she’s okay,” Tanuma tells him sternly, lifting him into a hug. “We’ll move them all, just rest, you did the first one if this worked, the rest should be calmer. The ones on me don’t feel as aggressive as they did a few minutes ago.” 

Natsume breathes again, accepting his words as he rests his forehead against Tanuma’s shoulder. He’s relieved and scared, if anything happens to the sprouts he’s sure they’ll attack Tanuma next. But he’s right, as long as they are careful the worst is over. He senses even less aggression from the mother youkai that Nyanko is still defending them from. 

“Relax, we’re trying to move your stupid sprouts from under the house not kill them, happy?” Nyanko says to the mother tree. 

The mother tree slowly calms, its fury and shaking limbs slowing to a more natural motion. 

“I...I see now. They are basking in the sun for the first time in...so long. But do be careful with them. They are so fragile.” The mother tree says. A different wave vibing from the being, a wave of hopeful anticipation.

They get to work while Natsume rests. He still feels shaken, the breath taken out of him has rendered him useless. Tanuma and Kida make quick work of the sprouts beneath the deck, the ones under the walkways taking a bit more time to get to. 

“Kida, was this house remodelled? It doesn’t look new, how did the seeds end up under the house?” 

Kida pauses in his work and thinks, “I think a little while back this outside deck did get some work done, it was incomplete when she first showed me the place.” 

Perhaps the seeds fell then the work was done over them, condemning them to darkness. 

Around the twentieth or so sprout that is replaced, Natsume starts to notice the creatures making their way back to their physical forms, residing in the sprout instead of on the backs of people or beneath the house. One eventually addresses him in recognition, a small bow in thanks as it fades back into where it belongs.

Natsume smiles, it looks like its a case closed for this one. 

Then he remembers, one last thing to check. 

When he’s able to stand, he makes his way over to the mother tree. “Have you met a woman by the name of Natsume Reiko? Does your name exist in this book?” 

He asks, and shows the book.

“Ah my name, yes I remember…” 

Natsume smiles and performs a ritual he hasn’t done in a very long time. 

…

Natsume ends up sleeping for two whole days after that, sending Tanuma and Nyanko in a flurry of worry. But they are both reassured by human doctors and Natsume’s youkai friends alike that he is fine, just restoring the life force he lost. 

Kai wakes up a few days later, just as bubbly as she went to sleep supposedly, and absolutely starving. 

“So, another name removed from the book of friends?” Natori asks him later, sounding pleased at the news. 

“There’s not many more left.” Natsume tells him. 

“Good.” Is all Natori says about the matter. “I’m glad to hear you’re awake again, it seems I need your help more often in these matters, Kida was raving to me about your peaceful solving of this. He was ecstatic when his sister woke up. Wrote an article about you too.” 

That stops Natsume short. “An article?” 

“He’s a journalist, I told him to keep your names on the low side, but I think you will be having your name a bit more out there for uh…’spiritual assistance’ as he called it. I’ll send it to you.” 

Natsume’s a bit scared, Natori sends him the article in an email. The three of them read it around the table, the article is kind and very complimentary, talking of their spiritual help and detailing the story of how his sister awoke. 

Natori must’ve advised, because there is no mention of youkai or exorcisms, only vague details about how their investigation led to his sister awaking from her nearly three week slumber.

“Well, this is one way to get our business rolling.” Tanuma says.

“I don’t know about that,” Natsume replies, feeling uneasy. 

“It gets the name out there.” 

“A little too much though, maybe. youkai business is supposed to be a secret for a reason.” Natsume reminds him. He can’t forget about what could happen, the consequences for unveiling the secret are high in both the human world and the world of youkai.

“This doesn’t make us seem like we deal with youkai, but those who know about that world will know they can come to us with this kind of problem.” Tanuma says, sounding far more positive than Natsume feels. 

“I suppose you’re right.” 

“Plus, you’re one more page down in the book of friends.” Nyanko-sensei pipes in, part dark reminder and part encouragement. 

There’s so few pages left, Natsume doesn’t know what creatures he will face. But he hopes they have something to tell him of his grandmother, of that past. He welcomes it as much as he fears it.

He smiles and feels something like joyful anticipation when he thinks of what the future holds for the three of them.

Either way, whether good times come his way or troubling ones, he knows who will be by his side when the time comes.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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